I tried to count how many times I have been to Paris but can’t really remember; something between 6 and 7. It’s so easy to come over from Brussels, especially if you have friends to stay with. And there is always something I haven’t seen yet; something still to discover. Even though I also spend a good deal of my time sleeping, relaxing and reading, I still managed to:

have a walk through the shopping center Châtelet / Les Halles. I was expecting more a real market and not 90% cloths shops but the swimming pool is great.

go for groceries in the tiny market of Les enfants rouges. Maybe it was the weather or the Easter weekend but there were not a lot of people around. Got all the vegetables I was looking for.

visit the museum Arts et Metiers. I never remember the first Sunday of the month and am always happily surprised to learn that the entrance is free. Luckily so because I will have to come back to the museum after managing to see 2 of the 6 exhibition rooms in a bit more than 2 hours.

1984 – three égoutiers (canalisation workers) found a 85 cm long female crocodile in the égouts (canalisation) of Paris. Eleonora, by now a good two meters longer, is enjoying her live in the Aquarium de Vannes.

This is certainly the most interesting fact to learn during the visit of the Paris canalisation. After this first surprise of one of the biggest urban myths being true, the second is is the smellnessless and cleaniness of the place. The last is the surprisingly low number of rats (2/inhabitant of Paris city = 4 million) and that the directors of Ratatouille came to visit the canalisation to learn more about this city under the city.

Indeed, just as the streets above, every canal has the street sign and the houses have their numbers assigned mirrowing the city above and allowing a perfect on-the-spot intervention in case of problems.

In case you have an hour to spare during you next Paris visit (and if you speak French), it is definitely worth visiting les égouts.